Merry and Bright
by NewHampshireGirl
Summary: Tali spends her first Christmas with her new family. Set in the "Unconditionally" verse, rewrite of the original story. Tony/OC, McGee/Delilah, team as family. Post "So I Will Run Through Fire"; AU
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimers:** I own nothing but Leah and Jack.

 **Warnings:** Spoilers for S13

 **A/N:** Here is the rewrite of "Merry and Bright" (yay! Christmas in July!) It is completely done, so I will post a chapter a day. I hope you enjoy the new version of this story :) The original has been taken down. Working on a new story for this verse, as well as rewriting "Hanging from Words".

* * *

 **Merry and Bright**

Tali DiNozzo pushed the oak bar stool closer to the kitchen island and climbed up, her curious little face peering at what her stepmother was doing.

Holidays for the little girl had been quite different when she lived with her mother. It was just the two of them, and there was no pomp or circumstance. Here in Washington with her father, there was a lot going on around her. Lights were strung up, big red bows adorned the railings, and a tree had sprung up in their living room.

Leah smiled at her adopted daughter, watching her green eyes light up at the sight of all the baking goods covering the kitchen island. Tali had very rarely left her side during Christmas preparations, asking questions, eager to participate and she was always willing to test taste any goodies that Leah made.

"Mama," she said, looking at the plate of cookies, "what are these?"

"Ginger snaps," Leah answered.

"Oh, my favorite," Tony remarked entering the kitchen and reaching for a cookie.

Playfully, Leah smacked his hand away. "Those are for the Christmas Eve Party tomorrow," she said. "I made you your own batch. They're in the cookie jar."

Tony threw her a big, goofy grin, scooped Tali up off the stool, and went to find the cookie jar. Tali giggled as he carried her underneath one arm and then as he lifted her to his hip. He opened the cookie jar and took out two cookies. "One little cookie isn't going to ruin dinner," he said with a smile.

Tali gobbled her cookie up, leaving only a few crumbs behind as evidence she had eaten the treat. "More?"

Leah glared slightly at her husband. "See what you started?"

He smiled, innocently at her. "It's Christmas!"

She wasn't as amused. "You've been saying that since Black Friday."

"The holiday season only comes around once a year."

"Yes, but I'd rather not have the kids on a sugar rush at all hours of the night."

Tony kissed his daughter on the cheek and set her back on the floor. He then went over to Leah and kissed her cheek as well. "You've been up all hours of the night worrying about how a new baby is going to fit into our life—not because the kids are on a sugar rush."

Leah sheepishly looked away, wrapping the plate of ginger snaps in plastic wrap. It was true, she was having some mild panic over the idea of a new baby. Some mornings it was hard enough getting Tali and Jack out the door, she was struggling to imagine what they were going to look like with a newborn in the mix. "If you think things are crazy right now, just wait until this baby arrives."

He shrugged his shoulders and gave her another kiss. "I'm not worrying about it," Tony said, gently rubbing his hand over her small baby bump. "We needed some good news in our lives, this baby was just that."

Tali tugged on his sleeve. "Aba?"

"Yeah baby?"

"Is new baby here?"

Tony chuckled. They had done their best to explain what was happening to Leah and her body, what was going to change in their family, but it was still something that was hard for the two toddlers to understand. He reached down and ruffled her hair. "No. The new baby won't be here for a long time. It needs to stay warm and safe in Mama's tummy for a while longer."

Tali stretched up onto her tip toes and planted a soft little kiss on Leah's belly, whispering something to the baby before she skipped out of the kitchen.

Leah looked at the clock on the wall. "Dinner is almost ready. Can you get the kids to wash up?"

"Sure," Tony said, moving towards her. He slipped his hand into his pocket. "There was something I wanted to give you before tomorrow… you know… so you can wear it."

"Wear it? Honey, I know you think I look amazing but I'm not entirely comfortable wearing anything fancy while I'm pregnant," Leah said, smiling gently at him.

He pulled a little box out of his pocket and handed it to her with a kiss.

She grinned at him with a teasing glint in her blue eyes. "It's like we're in our own jewelry commercial."

"Ha ha... very funny. Please just open it."

"Yes, sir."

Leah tore the paper off to reveal the black velvet box. "I wonder what's inside!" She continued to tease him as she pulled the lid open. Her witty little grin disappeared when saw what was inside the box. "Tony... this... this had to cost a lot of money."

Tony reached over and took out the diamond and emerald pendent. He opened the clasp and placed it around her neck, gently closing the clasp into place. The pendent fell gracefully across her collarbone. "You forget... I know people..."

"You didn't take this from the evidence locker did you?"

"No! Of course not!"

Leah ran her fingers over the necklace. "Ok, good because I really love it."

Tony gently pressed lips to hers. "Good... because it looks beautiful on you."

She snuggled into his arms. "Thank you, for my gift. You didn't have to do it, Tony. Having our lives back on track and having you back to normal are enough for me this year."

He kissed her, lovingly. "After everything I put you through this year, and you sticking by me and not running away, you deserved something nice."

Behind them the oven beeped, signaling that dinner was ready. Tony kissed his wife one more time and then went to retrieve the kids, get them washed up for dinner like he promised. As he stood behind the toddlers in the downstairs bathroom, watching them giggling as they washed their little hands, crammed on a wooden stool that Gibbs had crafted… he felt his heart warm with love. He kissed the top of each little head.

Tali smiled up at him, Jack giggled and pushed him away. Tony continued to pepper them with kisses, even as they dashed away from him laughing all the way to the dinner table.

* * *

"Hey," Tony mumbled from the sofa later that night when he heard a plastic bag rustling, waking him up. He opened his eyes to see Leah preparing goodie bags for their guests tomorrow; the fire they had made love in front of was nothing but embers now. "Come back to the sofa, sweetheart, I'm cold."

"I left you the blanket," Leah teased, glancing over her shoulder at him. She was wearing his sweater which was _much_ too big on her. "I have to finish this."

Tony pouted and sat up. He found his boxers and jeans on the floor and pulled them on. Getting to his feet he went to stand behind his wife, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck. He'd been romancing her since the kids had gone to sleep hours ago. "But what if I wasn't finished with you on the sofa?"

Leah kept putting things into the bags, most of them for her nieces and nephews, and ignored him. "Well seeing how you fell asleep after we were done the first time..."

"Aw, you know me, I like to nap to recharge my batteries."

"Yes, I know, you like to nap. But you got incredibly lucky that I was willing to let you use up your batteries earlier."

Tony chuckled and nuzzled her neck, making her giggle and she pushed him away playfully. He kept persisting while she finished. Sometimes her hyper-focusing wasn't such a hindrance to her. When she was done he turned her to face him, kissing her. "What do you say to going upstairs to our bedroom and taking that sweater off?"

Leah wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for another kiss. "Only if you help me clean up the mess in the kitchen."

He frowned. "Can't that wait until morning?"

She started to pull away from him and shook her head. "No. It cannot," she said, firmly starting to pull away. He pulled her back, wrapping her into his arms as tightly as he possibly could without hurting her. "Tony. I'm serious! We have company coming over tomorrow!"

"I want to tell them."

"What?"

"I want to tell them we're having another baby."

Leah studied him for a moment. She was twelve weeks pregnant, not quite out of the woods yet but everything was looking good that their baby was healthy. But, she had already thought about telling her parents and she had anticipated that Tony would want to tell his family, his team, so... "Okay. We can tell them."

Tony pressed his lips to hers in a loving, tender kiss. "Good. Because I know you were going to tell your parents anyways."

"What? How did you..."

"Federal investigator... I know my wife."

"Oh? You do, do you?"

"Yeah. I do."

She grinned at him, teasingly. "Okay, well, since you know me so well... what am I thinking right now?"

He tossed her a lopsided smile. "Well, that's easy. You're thinking about how incredibly lucky you are to have such a thoughtful, good-looking husband that lavishes you with jewels... very expensive ones might I add..."

Leah rolled her eyes at him and laughed. "And that he's incredibly cocky."

Tony pressed his lips to hers and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Part of my charm," he whispered to her, letting his lips linger over hers. "And it's my charm that you fell in love with."

"It was more than your charm I fell in love with," she told him, smiling sweetly at him.

"But it didn't hurt, did it?" he asked, grinning.

"Oh, of course it didn't hurt."

"Well that's good because I see that our son is becoming quite the charmer."

Leah chuckled. "He learned from the best."

Tony let his eyes wander over her before kissing her hungrily. "What do you say we go clean up that kitchen and head on up to our bedroom?"

"I say..." Leah replied, smiling at him, her eyes filled with love, "that sounds like a great idea."


	2. Chapter 2

**Warnings:** Spoilers for S13 and my story "So I Will Run Through Fire"

 **A/N:** Here is chapter two! Enjoy!

 **Guest-** _Thank you! I love Christmas in July!_

* * *

Sunshine woke him up the following morning. It had stopped snowing, revealing the world blanketed in a fresh coat of powder that sparkled in the sun. Tony stretched and reached for his wife, only to come up empty. Blinking open his eyes he found Leah's side of the bed unoccupied, the blankets kicked back. She must have slipped out of bed to get the kids. Just because their parents had stayed up most of the night didn't mean the toddlers were going to let them sleep in the following morning.

Rolling over and kicking the blankets off, Tony found his lounge pants and pulled them. He wasn't sure where his sweater had ended up... although he had a good guess that it had been left in the kitchen last night after they had finished cleaning up.

Tony stumbled down the stairs, rubbing his eyes and soaking in the wonderful smell of bacon and pancakes cooking in the kitchen. He smiled, sleepily, when he entered. "Mmmm, bacon and pancakes... my favorite morning after breakfast... you know me so well, baby."

"Although there's some truth that I do know you well... don't call _me_ baby," Gibbs' voice surprised him.

"Boss?" Tony quipped, jumping back in surprise and realizing that he was only wearing his lounge pants, while his boss was standing in the kitchen cooking breakfast, looking at him with a sly smile. "I thought... I thought you weren't coming over until later."

Gibbs grinned at him and tossed him a shirt. "Your wife called yesterday and said you both had something to tell me. I offered to come over and cook breakfast for you. Now, put your shirt on."

Tony obliged, shyly, pulling the tee shirt on over his bare chest. "Yes, boss... s-sorry... didn't know there were plans for you to come over." He sat down at the island and watched as the team leader cooked breakfast. "Guess I should have known that Leah would want to tell you first."

"Everything alright?" Gibbs asked, concerned. "You didn't force yourself back into work too soon, did you?"

"What? No! I'm happy to be back at work. Everything is fine, boss," Tony countered, smiling. "In fact, things couldn't be better."

"Is that so, DiNozzo?" the former marine replied, pouring his senior field agent a cup of coffee. He grinned, cheekily. "Should have guessed that seeing how you came down here half naked."

Tony sipped his coffee, grinned lopsidedly, and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, my gift went over really well last night... that's all."

Gibbs chuckled. Tony had debated for weeks what he was going to get his wife for Christmas. He had driven Tim and Ellie crazy to the point where Ellie had dragged the senior field agent out shopping one night. The next day Tony had proudly showed off the emerald pendent he had purchased. "A special lady deserves a special gift."

"Wish I could give her more than a pendent."

"She doesn't want more than that, Tony. She's happy with just you and the two kids. That's what makes her special."

"Won't just be me and the two kids much longer," Tony slipped, eyes widening when he saw a look of understanding coming over Gibbs face.

Leah came into the kitchen then, carrying Jack, Tali scurrying after her. "Look who's ready for their first Christmas Eve pancake breakfast!" She bounced Jack on her hip, slightly, while Tali clapped her hands excitedly. When Leah glanced up at the two men standing in the kitchen, she noticed that Gibbs was looking at her with a bit of awe. "What? Something I said?"

Gibbs shook his head and scooped the pancakes onto a serving plate. He placed the plate on the island, smiled, and went to kiss her cheek, softly. "Hope it's a girl this time."

* * *

"If you and Leah keep having babies, you're going to need a bigger house," Gibbs said, sipping a bourbon by the fire that afternoon.

"Good thing we bought a house with potential," Tony said with a smile. "We're already considering renovating the third floor. Of course, I tried to talk her into moving but she loves this house too much."

Gibbs chuckled. He could see why Leah loved this house. It was old, an 1810's colonial, it had charm and character, and the previous owners had done a fabulous job of mixing old and new when they renovated it. If there was space to add on to the house, he would choose to add on to the house too. "Lots of space up there."

Tony put his glass down and leaned back on the sofa. "Contractor says we could fit three more bedrooms and a bathroom up there. Leah wants a bigger master bedroom, bath, and walk-in closet. I left her in charge of planning with the contractor. I just want what's going to make her happy."

He studied the senior field agent for a moment. Years ago, when Ziva had been on the team, Gibbs had not pictured Tony married, with a whole brood of kids. Now, seeing how much Tony loved being a husband and a father, it was hard picturing the once permanent bachelor that the younger man had been. Perhaps it was another reason that Ziva had never told Tony about Tali…

Jack shuffled into the room then, dressed in a pair of jeans, a white button down shirt, and a red sweater vest. Each day Gibbs couldn't believe how much more the little boy looked like Tony. If it wasn't for the child's blue eyes, the team leader could have sworn that Jackson was a clone of his father. The little boy smiled, broadly at Tony, "Dada, cookie?"

"Anthony, don't you _dare_ give him any more cookies!" Leah shouted from the kitchen.

"Sorry bud," Tony whispered, pulling his son onto his lap. "Mama said _no._ "

Gibbs laughed softly at the pout on Jack's face. He had seen that look before, on Tony, and most of the time the look had been directed towards Kate.

Tony kissed his son on the top of his head. "Don't worry, buddy; you'll be able to have lots of cookies and sweets tonight at the Christmas Eve party."

Leah shouted something else at him from the kitchen, but neither man could make out what she said. They could assume though that she was chiding her husband for promising their son sweets.

Jack shifted his blue eyes between the two men, leaned forward and whispered, "Mama mad."

"Mama is pregnant and stressed," Tony said, laughing when a confused look passed over Jack's face. "You'll understand when you're old enough to be married one day and have kids."

"Funny," Gibbs said, sipping his drink, "his namesake used to say that to me all the time when I was a kid."

"Guess he was appropriately named then."

"Dad would have loved having a grandkid named after him. He loved kids. Used to give them treats in the store."

Tony smiled and ran his fingers through his son's hair. Over the years he had warmed up to kids, back in his younger days he never pictured himself as a father but when he found out that Leah was pregnant with Jack, he found himself wanting to be the best dad he could possibly be. That feeling had only intensified when Tali came into his life and now with a new baby on the way.

Leah stepped into the den looking for Jack. She had changed into a nice pair of jeans and a red sweater that was just barely hiding the fact she was pregnant. When Jack jumped down from his father's lap he went straight to his mother, stretched up on his tip-toes, and rubbed her belly, affectionately.

Gibbs finished his bourbon and offered to help in the kitchen preparing for the party. "You look tired," he pointed out when Leah protested, "you should go rest when you have the chance. Tony and I can handle this."

"Are you sure?" Leah asked, skeptically, looking between the two men. "Tali and Jack can be quite a force…"

"Bella, go," Tony said, getting to his feet and sweeping her towards the stairs. "We handle some of the most harden criminals, how hard can two toddlers be for a couple of hours?"

* * *

It turned out, that two toddlers could be extremely exhausting. Especially two toddlers that were hyped up on sugar and excited for Santa's visit.

Tali and Jack, truthfully, had been ramped up since the beginning of the month. Leah had insisted that they observe Chanukah to honor Tali's Jewish heritage and after eight nights of stories, candle lightings and presents, the toddlers had been on high speed.

Less than nine months from now they were going to be adding a newborn to the mix. _What were we thinking?_ _Well, clearly, not about birth control,_ Tony thought as he cleaned up the mess from the snack the gruesome twosome had left behind.

"So… it went well, huh?" Leah teased, stepping into the kitchen and smiling at her husband.

"Oh, it went _great,_ " Tony said, with a hint of sarcasm. "I'm surprised they didn't wake you up."

"Where are they now?"

"In the living room with Gibbs. He conned them into a movie."

Leah moved towards him and kissed his cheek. "Thank you," she whispered.

Tony swept the cracker crumbs into the trash. "For what?" he asked.

"Gibbs was right; I needed to rest."

"We have guests coming in a couple of hours. You needed the sleep."

She kissed his cheek again and went to the refrigerator. "Do you think you can help me start getting all the food ready, since Grandpa Gibbs is entertaining the kids at the moment?"

He nodded his head and laughed. "Yeah. Just call Gibbs the _kid whisper._ I don't know how he does it, Leah. They were out of control for me and he comes in here, sweet talks them into a movie and they've been silent ever since."

Leah pulled out some platters covered in plastic wrap. "It must be a grandparent thing—your dad was over here the other day and Jack was screaming when he arrived, the moment your dad came in, it was like a switch flipped and Jack was happy as could be."

Tony studied her for a moment. Was it a grandparent thing? It would be quite a few years before Tony and Leah would be testing the grandparent theory… "Speaking of my dad—did he get to Italy okay?"

"He called to say he landed. Tony, he'll be fine. He needs this holiday away," Leah told him.

"I know, he had a rough go of it after Linda left him. I just… he's not getting any younger," Tony pointed out.

"If you're so worried about him, why don't you call him?"

"What? No! We don't… we don't make those types of phone calls."

Leah glared at him. "Anthony, your dad has changed a lot in the last year. He realized how horrible he was to you and has made a point to be in your life. You have lunch every Tuesday, he baby-sits, he didn't bat an eyelash when we brought Tali home. Your relationship has changed; those _types_ of phone calls can be made now."

Tony sighed and gently went to place his hands on her tummy. "I should have told him about the baby, before he left. I think he would have loved to know."

She smiled. "When he gets home, we can have him over for dinner."

He kissed her forehead. "I'm going to go call him. Be back in ten minutes or so, okay?"

"Take as long as you need," Leah said, watching as he went. She suddenly became aware that Gibbs was standing nearby, listening in. "If you're going to stand there, you can help get this food ready."

"You know," Gibbs said, joining her. "I always tell people that you were good for Tony, but I think you were good for his father too."

"Really? How so?"

"I think you remind him of Elizabeth, gave him that sense of family again."

"I guess they both needed a little love and affection in their lives."

Gibbs smiled at her and kissed her temple. "I think we all did," he said, before ending the conversation and silently helping her prepare for the party later. For a while, they had lost sight of their family, of _who_ they were. Now, months later, it finally felt like they were back to normal, and Gibbs wanted to stay there as long as he possibly could.


	3. Chapter 3

**Warnings:** Spoilers for my stories "Surreal" and "So I Will Run Through Fire"

 **A/N:** This is a completely new chapter to this story. Please let me know what you think:) Enjoy!

* * *

It was close to midnight by the time Leah's family—and Gibbs—left for the evening.

Once Leah had told her parents that they were expecting another baby, all thoughts and conversations shifted to the new addition coming to the family. It had delayed their meal and opening of gifts, which one of their nephews duly noted when they finally got around to the presents.

Tali and Jack had been troopers through their first Christmas Eve together. The frenzy of grandkids, ranging from ages sixteen to a three month old, had certainly startled Tali. She'd spent most of her time snuggled in her father's lap, watching as Jack sat squished between his sixteen and fifteen-year-old cousins.

Tony recalled his younger days, when the DiNozzo Christmas party was very similar to this. He was amazed, however, that Leah's parents, her four siblings, their significant others, and all the kids, fit into their house. Oh, and Gibbs, who, not surprisingly, had bonded with Ryan, Lauren's shy nine-year-old.

When all was said and done, their house had been filled with laughter and happy kids that night.

"Cookies for Santa?" Tali asked, with a sleepy yawn, pulling Tony back to the present.

"Yes, they're on a plate down in the living room for him," Leah said, tucking her in bed. "But Santa doesn't come until all good little girls and boys are fast asleep."

Tali smiled, her little eyes closing and she fell sound asleep, murmuring, "Night, Mama."

Leah kissed the little girl's forehead, turned the lamp off and flipped the night light on. When she turned, she saw Tony standing there, leaning against the door frame, smiling at her.

Tony slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him, kissing her, softly. "So, Mrs. Claus, should we go downstairs and have some cookies and milk?" he whispered, a sparkle in his eyes.

"First we have to put the presents under the tree, Santa," Leah whispered back. "And fill the stockings."

"Aw man, there's always a catch," Tony teased.

She gently took his face between her hands and kissed him. "I promise if you help, I'll let you have a few extra gingersnaps."

He chuckled as she took his head and led him down the hall, and then downstairs. "Are you bribing me, Mrs. Claus?"

"Maybe. Is it working?"

"Possibly."

Leah opened the closet underneath the stairs and pulled out a large box with presents she had wrapped previously.

Tony was amazed that the little investigator in Jack had not found those presents. "How long have those been in there?"

She closed the closet door and latched the lock. "Only a few days. Why? Surprised that Jack didn't uncover them?"

He laughed. "Yeah. He's just like me after all."

They worked together to put the gifts under the tree, fill the stockings, and when they were done they enjoyed the cookies cuddled up on the sofa together. Despite how late it was, or early, depending on how you looked at it—they weren't tired. Tomorrow morning was going to be their first Christmas with excited kids and both of them couldn't wait to see the toddlers' faces.

It was hard to believe how much turmoil their life had been in just a few months ago. Tony had diligently gone to his therapy sessions, even after returning to work so he wouldn't find himself battling depression once more. He didn't want to put his family through that kind of hell ever again. Gently he placed a kissed on the top of her head, grateful that he had her in his life. She had given him something worth fighting for and living for.

Leah shifted, slightly, and sniffled. "Do you think… Tali likes it here?"

Tony was startled by the question. "Why wouldn't she?"

"It's so different than anything she knew in Israel."

"Yeah, true, but think of all the new experiences she's had here, Washington."

"Washington isn't _home_ to her; Israel is."

"She's two, Leah; two year olds barely remember these things."

Pushing off of him, Leah sat up and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Exactly. She'll barely remember."

Tony reached out and ran his fingers along her arm. "Sweetheart, talk to me, what's bothering you."

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. "It doesn't… it doesn't matter. Besides, it's Christmas Eve, I don't want to be a downer."

He grabbed her by the arm before she could escape. "It _does_ matter, Leah. I can see it in your eyes. The therapist told us to always have an open line of communication, not to bottle everything up. So, talk to me."

Leah bit down on her lower lip, tears welling in her eyes. "You once told me that you don't have a lot of memories of your mom, that some days, you hardly remember what she looked like, what she sounded like; you were eight when she died—Tali was two when hers died. She'll have no memory of her mother. None."

Sighing, Tony slid his hand down her arm and gripped her hand. "And unlike me, bella, she will have the memory of a loving, warm stepmother that did her best to give her the love and care of a mother."

"It just breaks my heart she won't remember… I'd be devastated if Jack didn't remember me."

"We just have to make sure she knows about her mother. That's all we can do."

"Someday she's going to ask why she calls you Aba, and Jack calls you Daddy."

"And we'll answer them, sweetheart. Stop hyper focusing and just… relax."

Leah's free hand ran over her stomach. Already she had answered questions from colleagues, there were some that she worked with that suggested she should have left Tony when a secret child had shown up, but that wasn't who Leah was. "I know we did the right thing, taking her in; I should just focus on that, right?"

Tony pulled her into his arms and kissed her cheek. "I'll let you in on a little secret. Yes, my love for you grew when you said you'd marry me, and it grew when you recited your vows, it grew when you gave birth to our son—but it grew the strongest when you took a little girl in your lap, a child you had no biological ties too, and told me that we were taking her with us to give her a home, a family."

"Have I done that, Tony? Have I given her a home?"

"I don't think you have to ask. Just look at her happy smiles every day."

She sighed, content with his answer. After a few moments of silence, his fingers ran through her hair and he coaxed her upstairs to bed; those little smiling faces were going to be up early regardless of how late their parents stayed up.

* * *

"Mama! Look!" Jack exclaimed happily early the next morning. "A firetruck!"

"See, I told you Santa would come through for you," Leah teased her son, kissing the top of his head.

Jack had been obsessed with firetrucks ever since the fire fighters had come to the daycare center. Tony had taken the kids down to the fire station one weekend earlier in Leah's pregnancy when she wasn't feeling well and the little boy had been asking for a toy fire truck ever since.

Tali scooted closer on her bottom, but didn't touch her brother's new prized possession. Jack had a killer right hook when angry and she'd received it one time when she took a toy away from him. She was intrigued by the sounds and lights of the fire truck, clutching her brand new baby doll in her lap.

Tony glanced over his shoulder at the pile of presents the two kids had yet to touch. _Spoiled rotten, those two._ "Hey, there's a whole lot more over here behind me," he said, gesturing with his thumb over his shoulder.

"Yay!" the two kids shouted in unison, dropping what they were playing with and clamoring onto their father's lap to get to the presents.

"Easy! Or you'll crush me!" Tony said with a laugh, tickling the kids. They squirmed and giggled, trying to get to their presents. Their father finally let them go, giving each of them a big kiss before doing so.

After the kids had opened all their presents and were playing, happily, together, Leah asked, "Are you happy?"

Tony's head shot up and he looked at her, the worry in her eyes, the constant wondering if he was going to regress… he slid over to her and wrapped his arms around her. With one hand on her tummy, the other running through her long hair, he kissed her temple and whispered in her ear, "Yes. I'm the happiest guy in the world."

Leah smiled, feeling the slight tension leave her shoulders. "I'm happy, too," she whispered. Glancing at the two kids, happily playing, she told them it was time to get ready. "Grandpa Ducky will be here soon with all the food and taken over our kitchen. We need to be ready."

Tali, baby doll tucked under her arm, clambered to her feet. "I wear my new dress?"

"Yes, of course," Leah said, taking her by the hand.

"Braids in my hair?"

"We'll make sure it's all pretty."

Tony chuckled as they disappeared upstairs. Who knew that Ziva's daughter would be such a girly girl? He certainly never imagined it. "Come on, buddy," he said to Jack, getting to his feet. "Mama's right; Grandpa Ducky is going to be here soon and we need to be ready."

Jack hopped on two feet towards his father, who scooped him up and tossed him over his shoulder. The little boy laughed all the way up to his room where his father picked out a burgundy sweater and gray dress pants for him to wear.

After getting dressed, Jack sat in the middle of his parents' bed, playing with his firetruck while his father quickly showered and shaved. He slipped into a navy sweater and black pants, fixed his hair in the mirror and splashed on some cologne. When Tony emerged from the master bathroom, he found Tali now dressed in a sweet plaid jumper and white blouse, her hair braided, on the bed with her brother playing with him.

Leah, red sweater dress in hand, kissed him and disappeared into the bathroom. While she was showering and getting ready, Tony watched the two kids play. Sure, they squabbled like any siblings did, but for the most part they got along well. It turned out that Tali was quite protective of her little brother, always coming to check on him when he was crying.

Tony leaned down and kissed each of his children on top of their heads and with a beaming smile, he sighed, "Merry Christmas, munchkins."


	4. Chapter 4

**Warnings:** Slight spoilers for the series.

 **A/N:** I know I said I was going to post a chapter a day but I was busy yesterday and forgot. Hope you enjoy this one!

* * *

Ducky had insisted that he was going to cook them all a traditional Christmas dinner this year. Leah, Delilah and Breena were more than happy to help him prepare everything while the others sipped mulled cider and eggnog in the living room. Tony had lit another fire and Jack was eagerly moving back and forth from the kitchen to the den to see what was going on, not interested in playing with his sister or Victoria.

So far no one seemed aware that Leah's dress did show case her slight baby bump. Perhaps everyone was too engaged in conversation and other activities to even notice.

Leah was fully intended to keep her pregnancy a secret until after dinner was in the oven and they were all sitting in the living room enjoying each other's company and appetizers, but when Delilah opened a bottle of wine to celebrate her and Tim passing papers on their brand new house in Virginia... she knew that the cat was going to be out of the bag quickly, especially when Delilah poured her a glass and she turned it down.

"Are you feeling okay? You never turn down a glass of wine," Delilah said, surprised. "I mean I've only ever seen you turn wine down _once_ and you were pregnant with Jack." Suddenly understanding dawned on the woman's face as she took in Leah's appearance, finally noticing that small baby bump, and her blue eyes widened. "You're pregnant!"

"Pregnant? What... what gave you that impression?" Leah asked, nervously, while she continued to peel potatoes and toss olives into her mouth to snack on. "Just because I've turned down a glass of wine doesn't mean I'm pregnant."

Ducky chuckled and pointed towards the jar of olives. "You're eating olives, my dear. When you were pregnant with young Jack they were one of your go to snacks, even though you despise them."

Leah suddenly stopped, with an olive halfway to her mouth. It was true that when she had been pregnant with Jack she had weird cravings, olives being one of them, and it was also true... she didn't normally like them... well, except when she was pregnant apparently. "I didn't even realize I was eating them."

"Sure you didn't," Delilah remarked with a grin. She reached for the apple cider and poured Leah a glass of that instead. "Well, since you can't have wine, you can have cider and we can toast to both a new house and a new baby!"

"Mama! Baby in belly!" Jack exclaimed, suddenly appearing, and completely ruining any chance of Leah denying it. He grinned, pointed at Leah and clapped his hands. "Mama! Baby in belly!"

Leah looked at her son, a bit of a frown on her face. "Just like his father... can't keep a secret."

Breena picked the toddler up and kissed his cheek. "But he's so cute! How can you get mad at him?" She laughed when he smiled, reminding everyone in the room of his father. "He really is a mini-me of Tony."

Ducky chuckled. "Indeed he is my dear. So... when can we expect the new little DiNozzo to make their appearance?"

"May; that seems so long from now."

"It will be here before you know it."

Delilah nodded in agreement. "Just think of how fast it went by when you were pregnant with Jack, plus now you have two little ones you're taking care of. It's going to go by super fast this time!"

Leah recalled the moments of absolute panic that they didn't have anything ready before Jack had been born. She didn't feel any of that... yet. She wasn't sure if she would. Her anxiety was mostly caused by the fact that they were going to have three young children in the house by May, not that she didn't feel she was ready to have a baby. They were more excited this time around. Although, Tony was being his overprotective self, especially in these cold, icy months. "I just hope it doesn't go by _too_ fast," she said with a smile.

"Until then," Breena said, raising her glass in toast, "Let's celebrate new homes and new babies, because we certainly have a lot to celebrate this Christmas."

* * *

"Something came for Tali, in the mail, while you were away over the summer," Gibbs said, slipping a small box out of his pocket and placing it on the kitchen island. He and Tony were cleaning up the dinner dishes, gathering dessert, and making coffee in the kitchen; it was the first time they had been alone all day.

"Really?" Tony questioned, surprised. He finished up with the dishes and turned to look at the small package. "Who sent it?"

Gibbs tapped the box. "Schmeil. There was a note for you that came with it; have it at home. Apparently, Orli sent it to him after the fire investigation was closed."

Tony was officially curious. What could Orli and then Schmeil be sending his daughter? "You could have given it to her, boss."

The team leader sighed and glanced at the box. "Honestly, I had it for so long… I forgot I had it," Gibbs confessed. "Didn't think of it until the other day, Leah was by NCIS, talking to Abby—looking for stories about Ziva to tell Tali one day."

"She's worried about Tali forgetting her mother," Tony said, sadly.

"Understandable. She doesn't want to replace Ziva," Gibbs said, sliding the box towards Tony. "I think this will help."

Tony opened the small box and was surprised to find the necklace—Ziva's necklace—the one he had sent back to Israel to let her know he was okay, that he had moved on in his life. _The one that prompted her to call Gibbs and ask about Leah._ "This… this survived the fire?"

Gibbs ran his tongue over his lips. "Schmeil wasn't sure. He said that Orli was very tight lipped about how she got the necklace, but Orli knew Ziva would want Tali to have it."

He took the necklace out of the box and rested it in his hand. Tony had given very little thought about the necklace and after the fire, he figured it was gone forever. Maybe this wasn't Ziva's at all… "Leah will be thrilled that we have something to give her that was her mother's. All we've had are photographs that were taken over the years she was here in D.C."

Reaching for his drink, Gibbs downed the rest of it to drown the sad feelings that crept up. He had learned to accept that there were things that he could not change, however, every now and then he thought that if Ziva had just been honest and told him about Tali that things would be different.

"Gibbs," Tony said, breaking into his thoughts, "she'd be happy to know Tali is so loved."

"Yeah," Gibbs sighed, with a smile. He poured another drink. "I know."

Tony grabbed the plate of pastries and gestured towards the decanter of coffee. "Shall we go have some dessert?"

Gibbs chuckled and grabbed the coffee, following Tony out to the dining room. Everyone was still seated around the table, chatting, mostly about the new DiNozzo baby coming or the McGee's new house. Work, Gibbs was happy to note, was far from all their minds.

Victoria, Tali, and Jack were seated at a small kids table, munching on cookies and drinking milk from sippy cups covered with Disney characters. He recalled Kelly being that small, but for the first time in years, he didn't feel the intense anguish that came with it.

After giving each of the kids a small kiss on the top of their heads, Gibbs joined the rest of the adults at the table. Looking at Tony and Tim, two men he had regarded as family for so long, Gibbs decided that _this_ is what the holidays were about.

For so many years he had hid himself away, refusing to surround himself with the people he cared about. It wasn't until now that he realized that those actions could have hurt those around him. Especially Tony who was more than likely alone at Christmas until Leah had come along.

"I'm glad we're all together this year," Tim said, swirling his coffee cup around. "We should have done this more often. Why did it take us so long?"

"We used too, you know," Tony remarked, quietly. "Not sure when that all changed," he mused. Although, he had his guesses—after Kate died, that time Ziva left him out of a team dinner, after Harper Dearing blew up the Navy Yard, when he kept Jeanne and his mission a secret, Rivkin, Bodnar—the list went on and on.

"None of that matters now, Anthony," Ducky said. "What matters now is that we're all here, together, which is the way things should be."


	5. Chapter 5

**Warnings:** Slight spoilers for the series.

 **A/N:** Here is the final chapter for the rewrite of this story. I hope you enjoyed as much, if not more, than the original :)

 **None-** _Hmmm, yeah, Uncle Tim and Aunt Delilah would probably love a sleep over! At least Aunt Delilah would lol. Maybe in the next story, which is set about a month or so after this the kids go to Uncle Tim's :D_

 **Guest-** _I agree that Tony would not ignore Tali's heritage; it's not being ignored by Tony and Leah at all. It was mentioned in chapter two that Tony, Leah and Jack did celebrate Chanukah with Tali._ _Since this is a Christmas story I did not write into full detail about Tony and his family celebrating Chanukah._

* * *

Leah had found the Star of David necklace later that night, after everyone had gone home. Immediately, she was curious about the jewelry. "Where did this come from?" she asked.

Tony glanced at the open box on the counter. "Gibbs. It was sent to him while we were away over the summer. It's for Tali when she's older—it was her mother's. Ziva wore it every day."

"It survived the fire?"

"Apparently it did."

She smiled at the necklace. "I'm glad it survived. Tali will love getting this when she's old enough. I remember when my grandmother gave me my locket and you know how much I cherish that locket."

He wiped the coffee mugs clean, listening to the movie the kids were watching in the living room while their parents cleaned up after their guests had left for the night. "I know it isn't much…"

Leah turned her smile on him, her eyes shining, brightly. "Sometimes, the little things are the best. It might not look like much now, but trust me, it will mean a lot more to her when she's older. It represents a part of her—an important part of her, Tony."

Tony trusted that what she spoke was true; that Tali was going to adore having that necklace. He put the mugs away and went to her, placing his hands on her waist and kissing her temple. "I appreciate that you want to teach her about where she came from."

"I'm an archeologist, Tony; I make a living teaching about other cultures, preserving them," Leah said.

"I'd say that she has a pretty good teacher then," Tony replied, kissing her cheek.

Leah smiled at him. She had grown up in a household where she was taught different cultures early on; her father took them to museums and exhibits as young children. It was there that her love of archeology had been sparked. "Maybe next year we could invite Schmeil to come and stay with us. I hear that he likes to travel and I think the kids could learn a lot from him."

Tony agreed. He knew how much Ziva had cared for Schmeil and he would like for Tali to have a relationship with him. "I think that sounds like a great idea."

She sighed and turned about in his arms. "Maybe over the summer, after the baby is born and we've all settled in."

He nodded. "I'll make sure to write him immediately. Speaking of the baby, everyone knows we're having another one, and everyone seems excited, happy for us. I guess it wasn't too soon after all."

"You know, we should be getting those other two babies we have to bed," Leah pointed out.

"They've had a busy day," Tony said with a chuckle.

"Busy day? Try a busy month."

Tony kissed her and promised to go get the kids ready for bed. He joined them in the living room. Both kids were snuggled underneath a blanket on the sofa. Gently, Tony joined them and the two kids finished watching the movie lounging all over their father.

* * *

Tali leapt into her brand new bed that Gibbs had made her. It had been his Christmas present to her and he had worked on it the moment Tony and Leah had returned to Washington. Tali loved her new bed and Jack, well, he had asked if Gibbs could build him one when he saw it.

Smiling, broadly up at her father, the little girl pulled her blanket up to her chin. "Aba? Read to me?"

Tony grabbed her favorite story, _Goodnight Moon,_ and squished onto the bed with her. Tali snuggled up to him. Most nights Jack would be wedged on the bed with him, but he had fallen asleep before Leah had even gotten his pajamas on.

He often found himself wondering what Tali's night time ritual had been with Ziva. Was it similar to what Leah and Tony did now? Was it completely different? He realized that he was never going to know the answers to those questions. Ziva was gone and she wasn't coming back.

His daughter was asleep before he finished reading, snuggled underneath her blankets and surrounded by her favorite stuffed animals and baby dolls.

Careful not to wake up Tali, Tony slipped off the bed and kissed his little girl on the cheek before quietly leaving her bedroom. He made his way back downstairs.

It was quiet in the house now that Tali and Jack were in bed, exhausted after a busy Christmas Day. Leah had fallen asleep on the sofa in front of the fire after getting Jack into bed.

Tony finished cleaning up the kitchen and organized the gifts underneath the tree while she slept, trying not to wake her. It had been just as exhausting for her hosting dinner and entertaining. With their second baby on the way, sleep was going to be hard to come by when that baby was born. He reasoned he'd let her get a head start on all the sleep she was going to lose once they had three small children to care for.

"Anthony," she mumbled from the sofa, alerting him that she was actually awake,"can you bring me some tea?"

He chuckled and promised it would be there in a few moments. After spending that summer in Cairo with a British professor, Leah had acquired a taste for tea, especially when she needed to relax; she had consumed gallons of it over the summer as Tony struggled with depression. Ducky had been enthused when he found out she had taken a likening to tea, even having tea time with her on occasion.

Entering the living room he found his wife snuggled under her favorite throw blanket, watching the flames in the fireplace dance around and crackle. "Here you go, sweetheart. A nice, hot cup of tea just the way you like it."

She smiled at him underneath heavy lids. "Thanks," she whispered as he sat down on the sofa with her and lifted the blanket, sliding underneath with her.

Tony reached out and pushed her hair behind her ear before planting a soft kiss on her temple. "You should be sleeping. The doctor told you to take it easy during the holidays, less stress means a better chance for a healthy baby."

"I know... but I started thinking about everything we need to do before the baby comes; we need to get that guest room turned into a nursery, I have to ask for time off from work, and I need to speak to the daycare… I might have panicked a little."

"We have several months. Everything will get done."

Leah sighed and sipped her tea, taking comfort in his warmth and solid presence next to her. She knew how close they had come to not having this and she was going to cherish every second of the quiet time they got that night. "I'm glad everyone was here for Christmas."

Tony continued to run his fingers through her hair. "It was particularly nice to see the look of shock on Tim's face when you announced you were pregnant again."

"Yes, that's because he still hasn't quite gotten used to you being a father yet."

"Yeah, that's probably true. Of course, I haven't really given him time to process it—three kids came rather quickly into our lives."

She put her tea cup down onto the coffee table, leaned into his chest and kissed his cheek. "Tony."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah?"

Leah gazed at him, her eyes moist. "I know that this wasn't what we were imagining when we first got married, but I think… I think things turned out wonderful, I wouldn't change them."

Tony wiped the fallen tears from her cheeks and kissed her, gently. "We've never done anything by the book but I wouldn't change a thing either, sweetheart."

"Do you think Ziva ever would have told you about Tali? If she had lived?"

"I don't know. I think she believed Tali was going to be a burden to me; that I would leave you for her…"

"And she didn't want that?"

"No. She wanted me to be happy.

Leah sighed and snuggled against her husband. She wondered if Ziva would be happy to know how her daughter was doing, that Tali was thriving in Washington. Leah wished there was some way she could let the other woman know that her little girl was fine. She kissed Tony's chest softly, "Merry Christmas, honey."

Tony smiled and whispered, "Merry Christmas, sweetheart." He hugged her and kissed the top of her head. It had been one of his happiest holidays to date and it was thanks to this woman and the family they had created together, however unconventional it had been, and he was looking forward to the many more holidays that they spent together.


End file.
